Ordinary tasks often grant new insights.
Colorado State women’s basketball faced an undemanding challenge against Columbia College of Missouri Saturday. The Rams led for all but a couple possessions and coasted to a dominant 85-28 win. With more freedom to explore the bench, significant production came from several players.
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Getting younger players in-game experience is a focus for coach Ryun Williams. He’s already started to heavily develop freshmen Kloe Froebe and Brooke Carlson early in their careers.
“The thing I really love about (Froebe and Carlson) is that you can coach them,” Williams said. “They’re not fragile; they’re not sensitive. … They’re really good freshmen, and they know how to play this game, and it’s fun to just see them be productive.”
While graduate Emma Ronsiek accounted for over a quarter of the team’s points in the first half, it was Froebe leading the Rams to victory on the back end. The young guard boasted season highs in six notable categories, including team-high ties in points and offensive rebounds.
The season is still young, but the team has two productive graduates at the end of their collegiate career. Based on Saturday’s game, finding replacements won’t have to come through the portal. CSU may have struck gold with both of their newly added rookies.
“I think I’m just starting to gain my confidence and play off of my teammates better, and I think we’re really starting to click there,” Froebe said. “We’re really starting to see what’s open and play each other’s strengths, and I think that’s what’s gonna work out and help us in the end.”
Crashing boards and hanging tough came naturally to Froebe against the Cougars. She wasn’t the only force in the paint, though.
At 6-feet tall, Joseana Vaz isn’t necessarily towering over opposing players. What she lacks in raw height, she makes up for in strong box outs and high-point grabs. Vaz only saw seven combined minutes through the first two games, but she made her presence known down low with five offensive boards against Columbia.
“(Offensive rebounds) also bring energy to the team,” Carlson said. “So, that possession leads to more possessions, and then we know if we don’t make a shot, we have someone that has our back down in the paint. So it’s really nice.”
That extra assurance led to CSU’s highest field goal attempts and makes on the season. The confidence that comes with trust displayed itself on Saturday. The ability to rely on others when Hannah Ronsiek has a slow game was evident.
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Unnoticed, though, was the semi-consistent separation the Cougars enjoyed. The defensive highlights were ample, but Columbia simply couldn’t sink their shots. Had there been fewer wild attempts from the opposition, CSU likely would’ve still won, but it would’ve been closer.
The Rams haven’t enjoyed abundant success in every matchup this year. BYU outpaced CSU down the stretch after being down at half. Staying locked in will be key for starters and backups alike.
“The game can go sideways in a matter of, you know, two or three possessions,” Williams said. “We saw that at BYU, and so it was nice for them to be able to play through some of that and gain some confidence, gain some flow, gain some freedom.”
As a team coming off a tough three-game stretch, despite only one loss, a resounding win was much needed. Who knows if the Rams will stick with a carousel rotation going forward. If they do, this game serves as reinforcement for that idea.
“Yeah, you can go out there and slop this up and probably still win, right?” Williams said. “But that’s not going to make anybody better. You know, championship teams don’t do that. Winning teams don’t do that.”
Reach Michael Hovey at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @michaelfhovey.
